Update 3: It's been a year since my last update. Although my knee was in significantly less pain since my last post, it only got to the point where I could sleep and walk in a straight line without any pain. This allowed me enjoy walking around the block (I could actually walk about 10 blocks before my knee felt "done"), grocery shopping and doing light chores. I was grateful for all that, but I couldn't even ride a bike without ripping pain afterwards (pedaling ROM was too deep)...much less any other kind of sport activity.

So I took the risk and got a diagnostic arthroscopy. Haven't got the details from the doc, yet, but scope pics indicate my initial bike accident sheared a flap off my medial meniscus, gave me a chondral lesion on my lateral femoral condyle, scarred up/inflamed my fat pad and other stuff. I just cannot understand how such a slow and relatively light fall could do this much damage.

It's been 8 days since the scope. I was barely walking without crutches at day 5...but then I got too aggressive with ROM bending and it's been swollen like a water balloon and painful as hell ever since. Now, I can't bend it all, I'm back on crutches full time and am awakened several times a night by sharp pains or aching.

I will never trust a "negative" MRI again (I had 2 MRIs, each from different doctors, and they were both negative for anything other than mild tendinosis and slight effusion...they both failed so shockingly badly).

I have always be reluctant and apprehensive towards negative MRI scan results that never can give a true and accurate diagnoses. A diagnostic arthroscopy will always give a 100% accurate assessment of condition of the knee internally. It all very well and good for 0S's being weary of surgery, they do not want to tarnish their reputation making a patient knee worse increasing the knee pain and discomfort after surgery.

We know our knees best of all, we can go through a certain amount of steroid injections and PT exercises and still be no better off. There are many hurdle to come across before surgery is giving the all clear. I have been through 3 cortisone injections in 2015 and kept on top of my PT exercises and other treatment options for my right knee. I know how frustrated you are knowing that you have had extensive damage to your knee and was right all along to take a gamble by having a diagnostic arthroscopy. Your passion is snowboarding, mine is long distance running that I can no longer do since January 2013. I am physically unable to even take one large stride without feeling extensive anterior knee pain.

Now have to wait to see if an injection into my right hip impingement will help ease the knee pain? I am skeptical that it will have any positive impact towards the right knee pain. I think the hip pain was caused from the right knee injury by walking with a limp since post-op to scope #2 in July 2014. Never give up hope, you will get there in the end. Snowboarding on the ski slopes in Winter 2017/18. Good luck in your recovery will start off worse before it gets better.

Do not push too hard or could scar up your knee as I did, now looks like the scar tissue has caused extensive damage that is hard to get right again, once scar tissue starts attacking the knee it's hard reversing it!

I'm back. Doc said the excised meniscus flap was small (less than 15%), but was flipped up over the front of my femoral chondyl...supposedly, that's why the MRI didn't see it (still think MRIs are bullsh!t). He also cleaned up my freyed medial femoral cartilage and removed my inflamed synovium.

He said my kneecap looked fine (I read the scope pics wrong) and the wear on my lateral femoral chondyl was not only from the initial accident, but made worse by it wearing against the meniscus flap while I was trying to walk on it all last year.